We already knew that
Tom Dumoulin had a tough time physically and mentally during his time at
Jumbo-Visma, but everytime he returns to the topic, more and more dark details of his suffering are revealed.
And that was no different in his interview with Mezza magazine. "I buried my head in the sand when I arrived at Jumbo-Visma. I didn't dare to admit it to myself. But I felt terrible. That whole team was on its way to the top, and they did a great job. I was the only one who was not feeling well at all, who was constantly struggling."
Dumoulin explains what he needed at that moment: "People who say: gosh Tom, let's see together how we can get you back on track," although he fully understood that they could not really help him with the team. "I rather had the feeling that they adopted an attitude of: yes boy, you are riding around here for a lot of money, that requires certain performances. Rightly so, of course, but it didn't work for me at all."
Dumoulin panicked, especially because his body was not feeling well physically. "When corona broke out in 2020, I was at home for months. I felt so bad. I only pooped mucus and blood, normal stools no longer came out. I could not train properly. At the same time, the team put me forward as one of the leaders for the Tour. It was terrible. The worst period of my life."